Cymbalic Encounters displays its ‘world music’ side with the release of “Afrika Mandalika,” which features nine original progressive rock songs with an African twist of classic tribal and healing chants with rhythmical drums samples to offer authenticity to the tracks which include titles like; “Rains of Waimba, Voodoo Supermarket and even Black Magic.”Media/Samples
With a deep connection and love for minimalist music, especially that of Terry Riley’s organ works, heavy stoner rock ala Sleep, High on Fire and Elder and the electronic avant-garde, the Full Earth-sphere circles in on fuzzed out riffs, sonic experimentalism and noise music.
Cloud Sculptors, which is a kind of abstract, mythological and psychedelic account, consists of six thoroughly composed and extensively produced tracks. Four of them are long-form, instrumental, fuzz-heavy and sludgy compositions stretching towards the 20-minute mark. Echo Tears and Weltgeist are two shorter organ compositions inspired by James Ferraro, Onehotrix Point Nevers and Györgi Ligeti's genius contributions to musical history.Media/Samples
'Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace' is a concept album that finishes the trilogy of their Halo storyline, following 2015's 'Her Halo' and 2021's 'Sorella Minore.'Commenting on the album's thematic direction, the band states: "We began with a story of betrayal, love, and wonder told through the album Her Halo. We continued that tale through to a climactic finish with the epic suite Sorella Minore. And now, we have finally brought to you the third instalment of the Halo Saga, to bring the whole story together. We take you not forward in time, but to the very beginning...Eli - A Wonderful Fall from Grace takes us to A Place Called Halo, the circus where it all began in the height of it's popularity. Eli, a shipwreck survivor discovers the travelling tented landscape, and becomes the star attraction... but at a terrible price.Along with a full length concept album, we finally release the short story that sparked this spell binding concept all those years ago.Every story has a beginning, and so is Eli - A Wonderful Fall from Grace."
Their previous album Arrival of The New Elders presented a more varied and reflective trio, still as groovy as ever, but more structured and less jam oriented... We´re delighted to confirm that Mythical River is moulded much in the same way and a natural follow-up, with six stellar new compositions by keyboard maestro Ståle Storløkken, bookended by two cosmic snippets. From the hypnotic and magical to the razor sharp and polyrhythmic, this is yet another very strong group effort from a trio on top of their game. Comparisons have been made with bands dating as far back as the sixties, but with Arrival of The New Elders and Mythical River Elephant9 appear as a thoroughly contemporary, timeless and even futuristic sounding band.
Present's music is a striking blend of heavy rock with classical and zeuhl influences. The compositions, all penned by Trigaux, utilize repetition, complex counterpoint, intricate interplay between the instruments, rapidly shifting time signatures, and a strong instrumental attack. The final result is blindingly precise works of syncopated instruments, all seemingly coming from different angles but ultimately working together as a cohesive whole.Media/Samples
Compared to the first two albums, 'By Design Or By Disaster' takes the listener to even more extremes, from beautiful atmospheric strings to pounding rhythms and guitars. However, Jolie continued to search for melodies and harmonies that one might not immediately expect. The music still does not conform to conventional norms. For the attentive listener, there are once again some 'easter eggs' hidden; melodies from previous albums that have found their way onto this new record but in a different form. This makes the first two albums, together with this record, a kind of triptych. The same applies to the artwork.
'By Design Or By Disaster' is not a concept album, but there is certainly a common thread in terms of the lyrics. They revolve around the journey of a young man navigating through life, building and losing relationships along the way, such as with his parents, loved ones, and later, his children. It's as if he is constantly looking in the mirror. Hence the three characters on the album cover; it's the same person but in different phases of his life. The two adults are blindfolded by the blue ribbons, symbolizing our preconceptions and the obscuration of vision. Because, whether we like it or not, we can get stuck in how we (think we) are. On the other hand, the baby is still free from judgment and completely open to life. For now…
The Nordic landscape becomes a source of inspiration for ethnic features and other more electric progressive rock moments, including orchestral sections.
Entirely instrumental this album differs from Aldo's previous works by less Medieval and Celtic influences and thus less use of flute. Here Aldo prefers new age-progressive sounds for which he finds affinities with the more imaginative Mike Oldfield.Media/Samples
Through the two albums, listeners are presented with fragments of personal stories, in no apparent order, each offering distinct perspectives on the revolutionary events. In this first part, a group of rebels prepare for violence while the rich and powerful get ready to up-load their consciousness to the cloud. Later, murderous AI drones roam the streets and a high ranking official gets tried for a genocide. And still someone finds room to sing a song about love?
While the moods are less melancholy than they were on Mycelium Days, the stylistic range is still as wide as ever. Genre-wise the albums traverse everything from aggressive alt-rock, to wistful folk, 60s-inspired prog and dark, 90s-tinged electronica.
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The album that consists of eleven tracks in progressive rock style will take us for over one-hour journey into space where the main character constructs the spaceship and goes for a long, exhausting journey to find the new home for all the humanity. From the opening to the very end, every song on the album tells a single, unbreakable story, complete with all the highs and lows the main character experienced.Media/Samples
The result is a seamless blend of compositions and collective improvisation that roves way beyond the usual generic categorisations making the album hard to pin down as either jazz or rock. Perhaps that’s as it should be for a sound that hovers somewhere between these and other more diverse stylistic influences.Read more by Sid Smith at bandcamp
Since its conception, the band’s mission has been to experiment and to find a new sound and musical expression - fusing the energy and improvisational nature of the jazz and rock bands we love with the tight, understated elegance of electronic music. Cloud People is inspired by everything from Bonobo, Kaytranada and Todd Terje to Motorpsycho and Pantera.
Simulacra is the result of this - dynamic and varied, full of rhythmic motifs, melancholic melodies and euphoric climaxes.Media/Samples
"Out Of Exile" is a 9-song concept album that explores themes & events from the Biblical Old Testament. Musically, Notion Blue drew inspiration from a variety of influences for this album, from Peter Gabriel to Tool. Lyrically, the themes explored draw plenty of modern parallels such as injustice, oppression, and seasons of uncertainty, all culminating in a hopeful & uplifting finale.Media/Samples
"The London Conspiracy Chapter I 1898" revolves around a gripping story penned by Chris Mangold and Ian Ringler, exploring the thin line between the thirst for knowledge and the addictions of obsession. Set against the backdrop of London in 1898, the Victorian age draws to a close, but the horrors of Jack the Ripper's murders continue to cast a grim shadow over the city.Media/Samples
Read the full review by Kevan Furbank at theprogressiveaspect.netGetter has been described as ‘the fieriest fretboarding female ever to strap on a Stratocaster’ – her forte is heavy jazz-fusion with elements of King Crimson, Martin Barre, Steve Vai, a touch of Jeff Beck and a soupçon of Allan Holdsworth. She can play long, languid and lyrical, but also crunchy and hard, with notes tumbling over each other as they burst out of the speakers.Recently she has been adding her vocals to the mix, and Division World – the third album from the Premonition – is her most song-heavy collection so far, with only one instrumental out of eleven tracks. The vocal numbers are enjoyable in a melodic, AOR fashion and most follow the same pattern: dreamy, gentle openings, getting louder with extended guitar and keyboard breaks in the middle. Getter’s voice is pleasant and tuneful – she reminds me of a mature Barbara Gaskin – but, like the songs, it is not particularly distinctive.
The upcoming album offers some of the bands most electrifying, fiercely unique and all round breathtaking work to date with 10 tracks of intricate Prog musicianship intertwined with synth-pop influences and topped with some elegant, infectiously catchy melodies.
The concept of the album is inspired by the works of Howard F. Lovecraft.
The protagonist of the album is a sailor, the only survivor of the voyage, returns to his home port. The sailor is struck by some sinister spell – he has become a "guide" of something terrible. And after his fifth dream, a mysterious, creepy creature will break into this world.
The album includes 12 tracks, 7 of them are full tracks (singing in Russian). Between these 7 tracks there are 5 short instrumental sketches in different styles (from psychedelia to hard rock) - dreams of a sailor.
Musically, we are fronting work that naturally follows in the footsteps of “Wyrd”, a magniloquent and energetic symphonic progressive rock, no longer largely instrumental as previously done but including a real singer that perfectly fits Roberto’s songwriting: his name is John Wilkinson, co-author with Roberto of the title-track lyrics. The main inspiration sources for this album are Genesis’ “A Trick of the Tail” and Rush’s “Moving Pictures”.
"Deliria: A Chronicle of 2020" is by some distance the band's darkest and heaviest album, drawing on sources as disparate as 60s hard bop, 80s and 90s metal, trance, and horror movie soundtrack motifs to convey the madness, horror, and mayhem of 2020.